The present invention relates to a toothbrush and to a method for producing a toothbrush.
A toothbrush of this type is known from DE 31 05 544; it comprises a body produced from plastic, intended to act as a handle, and a head for carrying the bristles. By means of an electrogalvanic process, a layer of silver is applied over the full surface area, either only to the exchangeable head or, if the head is formed in one piece with the body, to the body and the head.
Galvanic processes or other metallic coating processes may be dependent on the use of toxic substances. It therefore cannot be ruled out that toxic substances remain behind on the metallic surface as residual particles. For the user of such toothbrushes, this may cause the risk of toxic substances getting into the body as a result of contact and/or during use.
Furthermore, the presence of metal in the mouth can cause a painful electric shock if it comes into contact with, for example, amalgam fillings, as a result of a current flow caused by static charging.
According to DE 31 05 544 A1, the layer of silver in the head of the toothbrush is desired specifically to avoid the risk of infections in the oral cavity. If, contrary to this objective, the known toothbrush is formed in such a way that it does not have a layer of silver in the head, it would be necessary to mask the part of the toothbrush that is not coated with silver before the galvanic treatment—or possibly metallization by means of another process—which would involve great manual effort.
In WO 2001/096088 and the corresponding EP 1 289 729 B1, a method for producing a molding is disclosed with reference to a toothbrush. A shell of sheet-like metal, plastic or metal-plastic laminate or composite material, and having at least one hole, is placed in a first mold cavity of a first injection mold in such a way that it lies against the surface of the cavity. Then, plastics material is injected, so that the plastics material flows in contact with the shell previously placed in, the solidified plastics material is fixed to the shell and the shell forms at least part of the outer surface of the molding, or of the toothbrush. In this case, an opening running from the hole in the shell through the molding is also formed. The molding is introduced into a second mold cavity. During the injection operation which then follows, further material, a rubber-like material, flows into the opening and through it, in order to form part of the further material, which is exposed on the outer surface of the shell.